Two Signs, One Offer

19-hikoya, jami 40 ta

Hikoyani tinglang

Highlighted words are key vocabulary — tap one to see its translation. Colors show the part of speech:

Verb Adjective Adverb Expression

A dried-fruit stall in the covered market has two boards hanging above it, and for a week the customers argued about which one was the better offer.

The first board says: three kilograms for 24,000 som. The second says: six kilograms for 48,000 som. People who buy a lot pointed at the second board; people buying a little pointed at the first, and both sides felt they had found something.

Neither had. Divide, and the first board works out at 8,000 som a kilogram. Divide the second, and it works out at 8,000 som a kilogram. They are not two prices at all — they are the same offer written twice, once at three kilograms and once at double that.

The trader put the second board up because customers buying for a wedding asked what six kilograms would cost, and he was tired of doing the sum. It was never meant to be a discount.

There is a small lesson hiding in the argument. If you are told two things and the second is only the first multiplied by two, you have been told no extra information. Anything the first board can settle, it settles alone; anything it cannot settle, the second board cannot settle either.

The stall now has one board. Under the price the trader has written, in smaller letters: any quantity, at this rate.

Matndagi atamalar

Kartani bosing — taʼrifi chiqadi.

stall
rasta
covered market
usti yopiq bozor
boards
eʼlon, taxta
customers
xaridorlar
argued
bahslashdi
offer
taklif, narx
Divide
boʻling
trader
sotuvchi
wedding
toʻy
discount
chegirma
any quantity, at this rate
istalgan miqdor uchun, kilogrammi shu narxda

Qoida va formulalar

Matnda ishlatilgan matematik qoida.

the same offer written twice

Bitta taklif ikki xil yozilgan. Tenglamalar tilida: bitta chiziq, ikki xil koʻrinishda.

  • Those are not two offers; it is the same offer written twice.

works out at

…ga tushadi, yaʼni birlik narxi shuncha chiqadi. Taqqoslashning yagona toʻgʻri yoʻli.

  • Both signs work out at eight thousand som a kilogram.

no extra information

Qoʻshimcha maʼlumot yoʻq. Ikkinchi tenglama birinchisining karrasi boʻlsa, u hech narsa qoʻshmaydi.

  • The second sign adds no extra information.

Tekshirib koʻring

Matnni oʻqing, keyin hisoblang. Javobni bosib tekshiring.

1. How much does one kilogram cost under each sign?

2. What would nine kilograms cost at this rate?

3. Why does the second board add nothing to what the first one tells you?